How to become a fashion journalist

My name is Anastasiya Mozgovaya, and I am 21 years old. I was born and raised in Dnipropetrovsk, Eastern Ukraine, but moved to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, after graduating from high school in order to study at university. I received my bachelor`s degree in “Editing and Publishing” in June 2015. At the moment, I am at the crossroad of many options of what to do next of how to become a fashion journalist.

I have always been one of those kids, who wanted to choose their own outfits from a very young age, no matter what their parents thought or said. I had a very vivid idea of what I wanted to look like. In middle school, I took up drawing classes, where I had a chance to explore my first fashion magazine. I honestly do not remember which one it was, but I looked at every single page many-many times and felt a new kind of very strong excitement. That was the moment, when I realised I wanted to be in fashion.

Back then I did not know that there were a lot of various professions in the fashion world. It seemed that there were only designers, so I decided I wanted to become one. I have always felt that everyone should have an opportunity to wear beautiful and affordable clothes. I had no clue there were H&M and Zara already. Somewhere along the way, I decided to combine two passions of mine: fashion and writing equalled fashion journalism. This is what I have been doing on and off for a couple of years and hope to continue on a more professional level.

In 2011, I was 17 years old and saw a post on Facebook. It may sound like an exaggeration, but that tiny text changed my life. It said that Kiev Fashion Days (KFD) was looking for volunteers to complete all sorts of tasks such as helping at the press room, backstage and interpreting. I obviously applied. I was looking for an opportunity to break into the fashion industry and here it was – a welcoming door inside. I started from the very bottom giving a hand, whenever anyone needed it, and the beginning was not a fairy tale at all. I was taking coats at the cloakroom, and waving good-bye to the visitors in the rain, but I was sure, those were necessary steps on the way to the dream destination.

My first proper assignment was a small publication, I did for Top10store about the youngest designers at KFD. Afterwards I translated interviews for Daria Shapovalova`s videos on fashion, and a year after, in 2012, I started interning at FW-Daily. Within a couple of months I was not only doing the news section, but also taking interviews with the upcoming Ukrainian designers. Also I was involved in working with our foreign guests, who attended KFD every October and March. A year later, in 2013 I was fully responsible for our guests during their stay in Kiev such as finding volunteer interpreters for them, preparing plans for each day, and overseeing everything, so that every part of it would be fulfilled, and everyone would be satisfied. I kept on doing interviews with most of the guests too.

In 2014, I tried a totally new direction by taking up a position of a designer`s manager. I saw the life of a fashion brand from the inside of it, and even went on my first business trip at the age of 19 – to Paris and Florence. It was for a special ANNA K presentation at Colette, and participation in Pitti W. That trip was challenging, but it was a worthy one.

All in all, everything I can do today is thanks to my experience with Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion Days team and the many experiences on my way of how to become a fashion journalist. I met an incredible quantity of intelligent and interesting people, real professionals who taught me and inspired by sharing their personal stories of making it in the fashion industry. I took every chance I had, tried different kinds of work, and I loved every single moment of it. There was a season, when we had a blizzard due to which, I did not manage to get back home and spent a night at the restaurant. Such an experience helped me figure out that writing texts is what I enjoy the most, and therefore I should concentrate myself on improving this particular skill.

It will not be a surprise, if I mention that finding your place in such an industry as fashion is not that easy. It is definitely a complicated path, but the truth is that if you truly love it – you will manage to live through the hard times. That is why, I believe it is extremely important to choose the industry/profession that fascinates you more than anything else. For me this was the only way to do things, and the further I go, the clearer it becomes that my decision was right from the very beginning. There is nothing more important than being true to yourself, believing in your dreams, and your ability to make them your reality.

One advice I would give to other young people is to get into the real world and get some experience. No school will ever give you as much as an internship will.